Manitowo County is serving as a pilot market for the app, which was designed by the Madison startup GetCheddah.

Halverson pitched the idea of testing the app here with help from the Manitowoc County Chamber and Progress Lakeshore, where he serves on the board of directors.

Among the participating businesses are the Courthouse Pub, Subway, Manitowoc Trading Company and Schroeder’s.

Consumers can redeem one offer each day from participating businesses and receive information about events and other local attractions.

“Rather than making you seek out a coupon, it brings it right to you,” said Peter Wills, executive director at Progress Lakeshore.

Wills said the project is part of a larger effort aimed at addressing how to attract visitors and new residents to the area.

“That’s where we see the real opportunity. It allows us to connect with people coming into the community,” Wills said. “The idea is to be able to understand the demographics of the people coming into the city and how do we get them to stay longer and come back?”

The questions users answer will be used to gather opinions about local topics and to research consumer preferences in an era when traditional phone surveys have been hampered by the shift away from landlines.

And unlike a marketing panel, where a large amount of information must be gathered all at once, the app allows information to be tightly targeted, gathered in small bits and built up over time with the same individuals.

As of early October, the app had already attracted 550 users, Halverson said, and generated 2,700 responses to questions.

With a media campaign underway, Halverson expects that number to rise sharply and to see the app used on a much wider basis.

“If we can get this to be a community resource and this test goes well," he said, "our next step would be to build out the entire platform.”

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